1992 CENSUS OF SERVICE INDUSTRIES
Introduction
=>GENERAL
The 1992 Census of Service Industries, part of the 1992 Economic
Census, covered service industries as defined in Division I of the
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual (Standard
Industrial Classification Manual: 1987. For sale by Superintendent
of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402. Stock No. 041-001-00314-2) except Elementary and Secondary
Schools (SIC 821), Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools,
and Junior Colleges (SIC 822), Labor Unions and Similar Labor
Organizations (SIC 863), Political Organizations (SIC 865),
Religious Organizations (SIC 866), and Private Households (SIC
881). The census also excluded governmental establishments
classified in the covered industries, except for
government-operated hospitals which were included. Data are
presented for establishments in the following classifications:
SIC Title
70 Hotels, rooming houses, camps, and other lodging places
72 Personal services
73 Business services
75 Automotive repair, services, and parking
76 Miscellaneous repair services
78 Motion pictures
79 Amusement and recreation services
80 Health services
81 Legal services
823, 4, 9 Selected educational services
83 Social services
84 Museums, art galleries, and botanical and zoological gardens
861, 2, 4, 9 Selected membership organizations
87 Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
services
89 Services, not elsewhere classified
This series of reports presents data for service establishments of
firms subject to Federal income tax and (in separate tables) of
firms which are exempt from Federal income tax under provisions of
the Internal Revenue Code. Only establishments with some payroll
during the year are included.
Many of the "kinds of business or operation" included in this
report are not thought of as commercial businesses, and the terms
(such as "business," "establishment," and "firm") used to describe
them may not be descriptive of such services, particularly for
not-for-profit and professional services. However, these terms are
applied to all "kinds of business or operation" in order to
maintain conformity in the measures of the production and delivery
of goods and services and in the presentation of data.
The basic tabulations in this report do not include data for
establishments which are auxiliary (primary function is providing
a service, such as warehousing or bookkeeping) to service
establishments within the same organization. Data for auxiliaries
are presented in a subsequent report issued as part of the 1992
Enterprise Statistics reports.
For the 1992 Census of Service Industries, large- and medium-size
firms, plus all firms known to operate more than one establishment,
were sent questionnaires to be completed and returned to the Census
Bureau by mail. For most very small firms, including those with no
paid employees, data from existing administrative records of other
Federal agencies were used instead. These records provided basic
information on location, kind of business, receipts, payroll,
number of employees, and legal form of organization. In addition,
more detailed information for selected kinds of business was
obtained on the various questionnaires. For a more detailed
explanation see census coverage and methodology.
=>ESTABLISHMENT AND FIRM SIZE
This report represents a recompilation of data collected in the
1992 Census of Service Industries and is divided into three
categories: size of establishment, size of firm, and legal form of
organization.
Size of establishment-Only establishments which operated the entire
year have been classified into the various size groups used in the
establishment size files (files 1 and 2). An establishment is
classified as "operated entire year" if it operated 10 months or
more during the year. Data for establishments which reported that
they were in operation fewer than 10 months are separately
summarized as "not operated entire year."
Receipts/revenue size-Data in file 1 are classified into
receipts/revenue size groups depending on the value of
receipts/revenue reported for the year 1992.
Employment size-Data in file 2 are classified into employment size
groups depending on the number of employees on the payroll during
the pay period including March 12, 1992. Proprietors, partners, and
unpaid family workers were not regarded as employees in determining
the employment size of an establishment.
Size of firm-A firm may be either a single establishment (single
unit) firm or a multiestablishment (multiunit) firm. Firm size
groups are based on aggregate data for all establishments operated
by the same firm in the kind-of-business classification, group, or
total for which data are presented. For example, a firm operates
three service establishments: a testing laboratory (SIC 8734), a
surveying service (SIC 8713), and a map drafting service (SIC
7389). At each of the three most detailed levels of classification,
each of the establishments is a single unit operated by a
multiestablishment firm. At the engineering, accounting, research,
management, and related services major group level (SIC 87), it is
a two-establishment multiunit. At the service industries total
level, it is a three-establishment multiunit. In tables 3a through
6b, data are presented based on receipts/revenue size of firm,
employment size of firm, concentration by largest firms, as well as
for single unit and multiunit firms (by number of establishments
operated). In files 4 and 5, only firms which operated the entire
year are classified into the various size groups. A firm is
considered to have "operated entire year" if any of its
establishments at that SIC level operated 10 months or more during
the year. Data for firms which reported that none of their
establishments operated 10 months or more are separately summarized
as "not operated entire year."
Single unit and multiunit firms-Data in table 3 are classified into
firm size groups based on the number of establishments operated. A
single unit firm is a firm with only one establishment engaged in
economic activities. A multiunit (multiestablishment) firm is a
firm with two establishments or more engaged in economic
activities. A multiestablishment firm may, however, operate only
one establishment classified in service industries.
Receipts/revenue size-Data in table 4 are classified into
receipts/revenue size groups depending on the value of
receipts/revenue reported for 1992.
Employment size-Data in table 5 are classified into employment size
groups depending on the number of employees on the payroll during
the pay period including March 12, 1992. Proprietors, partners, and
unpaid family workers were not regarded as employees in determining
the employment size of a firm.
Concentration of largest firms-Data in table 6 are presented
separately for the 4, 8, 20, and 50 largest firms based on total
receipts/revenue.
Legal form of organization-Data in table 7 are presented for firms
by legal form of organization for four separate categories. Only
establishments of firms subject to Federal income tax are included
in this table. Since firms which are exempt from Federal income tax
normally have a corporate legal form of organization, there is no
corresponding table for these establishments. For the method of
assigning legal form, see Explanation of Terms, Legal form of
organization.
=>CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES
In accordance with Federal law governing census reports, no data
are published that would disclose the operations of an individual
establishment or business. However, the number of establishments in
a kind-of-business classification is not considered a disclosure,
so this information may be released even though other information
is withheld.
=>GEOGRAPHIC AREAS COVERED
This report presents data by kind of business for the United States
as a whole.
=>DOLLAR VALUES
All dollar values presented in this report are expressed in current
dollars, i.e., 1992 data are expressed in 1992 dollars and 1987
data in 1987 dollars. Consequently, when making comparisons to
prior years, users of the data should consider the inflation that
has occurred.
=>RELIABILITY OF DATA
All data compiled in this report originated from either census
questionnaires or administrative records of other Federal agencies
and, therefore, are not subject to sampling errors. However, the
data are subject to nonsampling errors. Nonsampling errors can be
attributed to many sources: inability to identify all cases in the
actual universe; definition and classification difficulties;
differences in the interpretation of questions; errors in recording
or coding the data obtained; and other errors of collection,
response, coverage, processing, and estimation for missing or
misreported data.
The accuracy of these tabulated data is determined by the joint
effects of the various nonsampling errors. No direct measurement of
these effects has been obtained except for estimation for missing
or misreported data; however, precautionary steps were taken in all
phases of the collection, processing, and tabulation of the data in
an effort to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors.
The Bureau of the Census obtains on computer tape limited
information extracted from administrative records of other Federal
agencies. This information is used in conjunction with other
information available to the Census Bureau to develop estimates for
nonemployers, small employers, and other establishments for which
responses were not received in time for publication.
=>SPECIAL TABULATIONS
Special tabulations of data collected in the 1992 Census of Service
Industries may be obtained, depending on availability of time and
personnel, on diskette, computer tape, or in tabular form. The data
will be in summary form and subject to the same rules prohibiting
disclosure of confidential information (including name, address,
kind of business, or other data for individual business
establishments or companies) as are the regular publications.
Special tabulations are prepared on a cost basis. A request for a
cost estimate, as well as exact specifications on the type and
format of the data to be provided, should be directed to the Chief,
Services Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233.
To discuss a special tabulation before submitting specifications,
call 1-800-541-8345.